Just imagine if the democratically-elected government of Canada had been toppled in a Russian-financed coup, in which far-right extremists and neo-Nazis played a prominent role.

That the new unelected 'government' in Ottawa cancelled
the law giving the French language official status, appointed a
billionaire oligarch to run Quebec and signed an association
agreement with a Russian-led trade bloc.

Just imagine…

If Russia had spent $5 billion on regime change in Canada and
then a leading Canadian energy firm had appointed to its board of
directors the son of a top Russian government politician.

Just imagine…

If the Syrian government had hosted a meeting in Damascus of the
'Friends of Britain'- a group of countries who supported
the violent overthrow of David Cameron's government.

That the Syrian government and its allies gave the
anti-government ‘rebels’ in Britain millions of pounds
and other support, and failed to condemn ‘rebel’ groups
when they killed British civilians and bombed schools, hospitals
and universities.

That the Syrian Foreign Minister dismissed next year’s scheduled
general election in the UK as a ‘parody of democracy’
and said that Cameron must stand down before any elections are
held.

Just imagine…

If in 2003, Russia and its closest allies had launched a
full-scale military invasion of an oil-rich country in the Middle
East, having claimed that that country possessed WMDs which
threatened the world and that afterwards no WMDs were ever found.

That up to 1 million people had been killed in the bloodshed that
followed the invasion and that the country was still in turmoil
over 10 years later.

That Russian companies had come in to benefit from the
reconstruction and rebuilding work following the 'regime
change'.

Just imagine…

If the pro-Russian journalists who had faithfully parroted the
claims that the Middle Eastern country that Russia had invaded in
2003 had WMDs did not apologise afterwards or show any contrition
despite the enormous death toll; but instead carried on in their
well-paid jobs to propagandize more illegal wars and
’interventions’ against other independent countries, and
attacked those honest journalists who didn't peddle the war lies.

Just imagine…

If over forty people protesting against the central government
had been burnt to death by pro-government extremists in
Venezuela.

That the Venezuelan government had launched a military offensive
against people protesting for greater autonomy/federalization
following visits by the head of the Russian SVR and Dmitry
Medvedev to Caracas.

Just imagine….

If last August over six hundred people protesting in camps
against the government in Minsk in Belarus had been massacred by
armed forces. That this spring, the courts in Belarus had handed
out death sentences to over 600 supporters of opposition parties.

Just imagine….

If Russia had spent the years following the end of the old
'Cold War' surrounding the US with military bases and
pushing for Canada and Mexico to join a Russian military
alliance. That earlier this month Russia carried out major
military exercises in Mexico.

Just imagine….

If we had heard leaked telephone calls between a high ranking
official from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
Russian Ambassador in Canada in which they discussed who
should/shouldn't be in the Canadian government. That their
approved candidate subsequently became the new, unelected Prime
Minister following a Russian-financed 'regime change'.

That the high ranking Russian official from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs also said : ‘Fxxx the EU’.

Just imagine...

If the Syrian air force had bombed a weapons depot in Israel and
also bombed convoys which security officials said were carrying
weapons to anti-government forces in Syria.

Just imagine...

If leading Russian politicians attended anti-austerity street
protests in western Europe, handed out cookies to those
protesting, and supported the protestors’ calls for the
governments to step down.

Imagining what would happen if any of the above events occurred,
and comparing it to what has happened in reality is highly
instructive as it shows us what is wrong with the world today.

Actions have been taken by the US and its allies which would be
considered totally outrageous if carried out by other countries.
All we have to do is to switch the names of the countries
concerned to see the double standards.

If Russia had attacked an oil-rich Middle Eastern nation in 2003,
and pro-Russian journalists peddled the same sort of deceitful
pro-war, WMD propaganda that neocons and faux-leftists did in the
west when the US invaded Iraq, then we can be sure that Russia
would have been regarded as an international pariah, and the
journalists who acted as cheerleaders for the illegal invasion
would be discredited for the rest of their lives. But the US is
not subject to sanctions or treated as an outcast, its President
in 2003, George W. Bush and his close ally Tony Blair, have yet
to stand trial for war crimes, and the media 'pundits'
who supported the invasion of Iraq are still in place and now
pushing for a new Cold war against Russia and new military
'intervention' against Syria.

If Russia had spent $5bn on toppling the democratically-elected
government of either Canada or Mexico, and installed a
pro-Russian junta in its place, we can be sure that within hours,
a full scale military invasion by the US would have taken place,
in order to remove the new 'government' from power.
Western television news channels and elite pundits would be
enthusiastically supporting the US action - declaring it to be a
'response to Russian aggression' and saying it was
totally justified. But when the regime changing was done by the
US in Ukraine, and a pro-US junta installed in power in Kiev,
it’s a very different story. The same people who would cry
‘foul’ at the top of their voices if Russia engineered a
coup in Canada or Mexico, celebrate the unlawful toppling of the
legitimate government of Ukraine.

We already know how the US would respond, if another country
sought to put nuclear weapons close to its territory – in 1962
the world came to the brink of war in the Cuban missile crisis.
But while a third world war would undoubtedly be threatened again
if Russian forces held military exercises in Mexico, it’s not
considered provocative for NATO to hold military exercises in
Estonia.

If the governments of Belarus and Venezuela had responded as
brutally towards anti-government protesters as the Egyptian
military regime did last August, or sent in the tanks and used
heavy weaponry against their own people as the western-backed
Kiev junta has, then we can be sure that the great
'humanitarians' of the faux-left would be screeching not
just for punitive sanctions but for air strikes too and for
Presidents Lukashenko and Maduro to be carted off to The Hague.

We all know too what would have followed if it had been the
Syrian air force that had bombed a weapons depot and convoys in
Israel and not the other way round. Why do we tolerate such
brazen hypocrisy?

There is no legal or moral basis for saying that the US and its
allies should be able to do things, which if done by other
countries, would be condemned as wrong and punished with the
imposition of sanctions and/or military attack or invasion.
International law and the principles of non-interference in other
nations should apply equally to all: regardless of the country's
political system or form of government. The British government
has no more right to interfere in the internal affairs of Syria
than the Syrian government has to interfere in the internal
affairs of Great Britain. The US has no more right to 'regime
change' in countries bordering Russia, than Russia has to
'regime change' in countries bordering the US.

We need a new international order based on the equality of all
sovereign nations: a new "World of Equals", as envisaged
by this year's Belgrade Forum, whose declaration can be read
here. If we can imagine that and work to put
it in place by exposing current western hypocrisy and double
standards whenever they occur then the world would be a much
safer place.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.